On the M74 between junctions J4-5 in South Lanarkshire

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Was passing through a few weeks ago what a terrible place the staff looked so broken an down. The place needs a lick of paint an cleaning up. My brother uses it on a regular basis an told me one of the staff was shouting at another in wh smiths an made her cry in front of customers. must have been someone higher up. cant believe roadchef get away with this sort of thing its bullying. The poor girl must have just took it. people in higher positions forget that without the shop floor workers it wouldnt function. only been in once never again.

chris heaton, Thu 5 Nov 2015

Thank you for your feedback and we are sorry to hear that you had a bad experience on your visit to Roadchef Bothwell.

We appreciate that some aspects of our site have been under invested in the past, but we are pleased to announce that Roadchef Bothwell will soon be undergoing an extensive refurbishment, as part of a multimillion pound investment across the Roadchef estate, to ensure that our customers receive the best possible service and most enjoyable experience whilst on their journey.

We hope that you will visit us again following our refurbishment programme and see the huge improvements which we have planned.

With regards to our pricing, Motorway Services Areas in the UK operate in a competitive and highly regulated business environment. By law, we must provide free toilet and parking facilities to our 46 million visitors, without the requirement to make a purchase. We must also be open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with food and drinks being available at all times, increasing our heating, lighting and staffing costs significantly. This is in contrast to a high street operator, who can close at their unprofitable times, or when they receive no customers at all. We must also pay for and maintain our car parks, access roads and motorway slip roads, which again adds to the running costs of our business.

Thank you once again for your feedback, this will be passed on to our maintenance and site teams. If you would like to leave feedback about any future visits, you can do so directly at www.tellroadchef.com.

The Roadchef Team

Roadchef, Thu 18 Jun 2015

Avoid, avoid, avoid. From the motorway, the turning into the carpark is sudden, exceptionally narrow high concrete blocks. We managed to get through ok at 20mph, the jeep behind crawled through. The concrete is smashed up where others haven't been so lucky. The Tarmac in the carpark is broken and disintegrating, inside is dirty, sticky and extremely expensive (sandwich is Â£4:60 ish). Avoid these services if you can.

Gail Holliman, Sat 13 Jun 2015

I stopped here after dropping passengers off in Glasgow having travelled from Skegness in lincolnshire I ordered what I thought was pie chips peas went to ask after waiting 25 minstrel would it be much longer when I did eventually get my meal it was pie and mash no veg I couldn't put the gravy on as it was too thick I stop at a lot of service areas but this was the worst meal I have ever er had hence I won'tbe stopping here any more

Mick Rust, Tue 31 Mar 2015

I have to agree with most of the negative reviews of Bothwell Services. It is a fairly appalling place, feels very neglected and obviously suffers from very poor management. I only go there because it has a Costa Coffee outlet (which is fine) and because it's the first service station you come to on the M74 after Glasgow, so is a natural stopping off point for me on my trip back to England from the North of Scotland.

I certainly wouldn't eat there. The only food outlet is a virtually unused, shabby-looking cafeteria. The seating arrangement and general layout of the place is straight out of a down-market 1970s cafe. As a couple of people have already mentioned, the tables are sticky to the touch. Disgusting! This would be so easy to rectify, but it seems nobody can be bothered. The gents toilet is cold, but just about serviceable. The swing-door to the gents, however, is filthy and most of the paint has worn away where people push to open it. I instinctively wrap my coat sleeve round my hand in order not to touch it. The cleaner's store cupboard is right next to the gents. The door had been left open and the contents looked cluttered and messy. I didn't hang around to inspect it too carefully! The W.H .Smith store is small and very limited, but carries most of the basics.

Outside, there is plenty of parking space, but you have to take care to avoid all the potholes.

Overall, it feels like the management have totally given up on the place, which is a real pity, because it is in such a useful, strategic location, just to the south of Glasgow. I shall continue to go there. I only stay ten minutes; I take a few swigs of coffee, make a quick visit to the loo and try not to catch anything nasty.

TonyS, Thu 22 Jan 2015

My husband and I stopped at this establishment on the way home from Glasgow! I have never been in such a disgusting eating place! The whole place was dirty! The cutlery needed to be cleaned when taken out of the container! The tables were all filthy and sticky to the touch! Had to put napkins down on the table before putting our plates on it! Had to change our plates as they were also dirty!I also spotted a young couple with a toddler asking for different glasses as the others were dirty and the mum also had to clean her cutlery before eating!As for the service, it was deplorable! I could not understand what the cashier was saying and then had to ask her to repeat what she had said! She also did not appear interested in her customers! There were only ourselves and the other young couple so she was not hard-pushed but was less than pleasant!As for the value, it also was unacceptable! I do not expect to pay Ã‚Â£14.10 pence for 2 baguettes and two cups of coffee! I also had to try and find something minus mayonnaise as I have an allergy problem! My cheese and tomato baguette consisted of 2 cheese slices and half a tomato with no spread or butter despite the cashier telling me it had butter on it! My husband had a chicken and bacon baguette with very little filling also! They were also less than fresh!Come on road chef these prices are extortionate considering you could buy a plain baguette for less than a pound in every bakery or supermarket! The coffee was as weak as water and not that hot either! We left half of the coffee as we felt increasingly uncomfortable in this establishment!In conclusion may I just point out that I do not complain often and am more often inclined to congratulate places on good service but definitely not today!As the first services past Glasgow you should be encouraging people to visit but I have to say I will tell everyone I know through whatever means I can to drive past as I would not wish your establishment on anyone!This place needs looked at by your management and some serious changes made! Very very disappointed!

Lorna Nelson, Sat 20 Sep 2014

DIsgusting is putting it mildly Couldn't hear what staff was saying ( when she finally came to serve ) because radio in kitchen so loud .tables were filthy used a wet wipe to clean and was black when finished When food came chicken was not what was expected she asked if it was ok and I said not really she just walked away wasn't interested .The only good thing about it was the Costa coffee that member of staff was only person trying to tidy up .It used to be half decent place to stop not any longer and will be last time

Jessie, Tue 16 Sep 2014

Atrocious! Sums this "service" area.Yet another company that offers so much, has great marketing but achieves so little due to the knowledge a captive clientele has no where else to go. 1/2 hour wait for a pie and mash, diabolical food after such a long time "cooking" to order. I am also wondering when somebody catches something from the FILTHY showering facilities! AVOID this service area if you can.

D H, Fri 27 Jun 2014

We were travelling down from a visit to the highlands, stopped at your services on the M74, south bound, I had to go to the door and call out to see if any one was there to take our order, finally 2 of the staff appeared, they said that the special of the day was cornbeef hash griddled egg and beans, we ordered 2 portions of that a cup of tea and a coffee, Waited 10 minutes to get the coffee, and a further 10 minutes to get the food, when the food arrived it was a mess on a plate, a plate full of gravey with bits of cornbeef chunks of onions and potateoes that were still raw,an undercooked egg and a spoon full of beans, I was totally discarded with the food the service and the whole appearance of the place, come on road chef, I live on the wirral and am at the road chef services on the M56 Chester, if you can make Chester Service's spotless with good food and good service the why not the Bothwell services

lynn Marshall, Mon 19 May 2014

Much better than its northbound neighbour across the road. Recently had lunch on here between work visits and found it to be clean and well maintained whilst the food wasn't too bad.

Chris, Sun 28 Apr 2013

The service station website states that lpg autogas is available. It is not!! I had to phone to get this information.This is less than helpful to drivers who run on lpg.

B Jarvie, Tue 26 Mar 2013

As alorry driver thats pays for parking i hope the shower we be or has been repaired as this has gone on for months the place has gone down hill why pay for the parking

ALAN COOPER, Sat 26 Dec 2009

I emerged from the aforementioned pothole on leaving with a flat tyre,which was unrepairable. Thanks to the RAC they changed my spare and directed me to KWIKFIT nearby.I received a little change out of Ã‚Â£150.I intend to seek compensation.

c taylor, Wed 22 Jul 2009

On a recent trip we stopped in at Bothwell Services and on exit we encountered a very large pothole which caused us considerable damage to a f ront wheel. If this was already known why was there no warning signs. I have since contacted Lanarkshire Council but they have said it is not their responsibility but were only too helpful.

Helen McPhee, Tue 30 Jun 2009

Once again this service area poses serious risk to visitors. There are numerous deep holes in the car park in front of the facilities, which coupled with the poor lighting, once again, pose a serious risk to visitors. They are so apparent and obvious that there will be no possible defence in the event of a claim. I have photographed them and will seek the advice of South Lanarkshire H&S and Envirnomental Health officials before passing this evidence on to the media. This is not a recent phenomena, this condition has prevailed for a number of months now.

John Welsh, Wed 25 Mar 2009

I love this service station. Its brings up very many happy memories!

Claire Webb, Wed 28 Jan 2009

Granted, it is a problem that needs to be attended to, but the fact is that the M74 in general needs a lot of work. The truth is that it is not going to happen any time soon.

I used to live there and what you have to understand is that the motorway and the services run on a council border area. Half is North Lanarkshire, half is South Lanarkshire. For years, I am sure, they have probably argued over who should pay for the maintenance, and the resolve is no closer than it ever was.

Marc Gamble, Mon 29 Oct 2007

Over a considerable period of months stopping of at this location at all hours I have been apalled by the poor lighting and the state of the car park and service roads. From time to time loose rubble is placed in the deep holes. A serious long-term dip on the exit road has been partly filled in and tarred over, but shy not just do it right and make it level. Small wonder then that many people I speak to now patronise the Happendon Services, well worth the slight detour. All road surfaces deteriorate with regular use but in this instance it amounts to neglect and is placing patrons both pedestrians and those in vehicles at risk, and is impossible for the inexperienced on the site ot avoid the risks.